Soul of a Man
by w Blitz
Summary: Helena and Jensen were two siblings who lived simple lives in Atlanta. Everything changed with the sudden apocalypse of the dead roaming the earth and devouring the living. She finds that escaping Atlanta is much more difficult than she originally thought. Who is going to bring her out of the pits of hell?
1. Chapter 1

**Soul of a Man**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the TWD. So- my last attempt at a new story was a complete and utter flop. It was pretty bad- so I'm giving it another try and doing something a little new. Hope y'all enjoy it. Please, please leave your thoughts; it would be much appreciated. Thank you. The theme song for this story is "Soul of a Man" by Steven Stern. I recommend y'all listen to it. **

**Chapter 1: Atlanta**

Everyone was running and screaming. People were being trampled, killed, raped- eaten. Atlanta was supposed to be safe from the disease and it wasn't. It was a cage of buildings and alleyways- they were all trapped here. It was only a matter of time before the military began dropping explosives to purge the problem.

Helena raced through out her apartment grabbing necessary items for the road. Her trembling voice called out to her little brother. "Jensen!" She threw in the last can of peaches from their pantry. She jerked the backpack over her shoulder and hurried from the kitchen. A yelp left her throat in fear as Jensen appeared before her suddenly.

He gave a boyish grin. "Scared ya', huh?" She glared without any sort of amusement. Jensen was a tall twenty two year old child. His hair was dark and messy and even in the apocalypse they were facing- he seemed to have a difficult time grasping how dire the situation truly was. As endearing he could be with his happy go lucky demeanor- Helena had a tough time reserving her annoyance.

"Let's go." She growled while snatching her aluminum bat off the ground. She shoved it in his hands as they exited their apartment. He chattered on. "Shouldn't you be carrying this? You're the one that used to play baseball."

Helena mumbled under her breath. "Softball." Jensen grabbed her upper arm. She whipped around in alarm to see a sickly looking man standing near the elevator. "Right. Stairs then."

As soon as they had turned- a sickening crunch echoed in the tiny hallway. Jensen hit the floor grasping his face and groaning in pain. Helena backed up as another man stood before her. His lips peeled back in a disgusting grin revealing yellowed broken teeth.

Arms suddenly encircled her waist; she bellowed angrily and kicked out violently. Her feet connected with the chest of the man before her and he tumbled backwards. She backed up forcefully and slammed her attackers back into the wall. He grunted in pain as she felt his breath wash over her. Goose bumps rose across her skin while her lungs rejected the sick air.

Jensen was up and fighting with the fallen man. Helena caught the flash of silver and screamed as a large bloody wound was increasingly becoming apparent in her little brother's abdomen. He yelped in pain and collapsed to his knees. The man holding her tightly rubbed his face against her neck as she writhed and struggled.

"You are so pretty I could _eat_ you."

Helena felt sick as she screamed and flung her head back into the man's head. The crunch of bones satisfied her and his grip slackened. She slammed her elbow into his ribs and twisted out of his grasp. She brought her knee into his gut and turned to the second advancing man.

With reckless abandonment- Helena flung herself at him and tackled him to the floor. They fought desperately over his knife when suddenly her arm was wrenched back and she felt teeth sink into her soft skin. She screamed as blood trickled from the wound and flesh was torn from her body.

She jerked her arm from him and saw the bloody grin he gave her while the second stabbed her right oblique. She fell forward gasping for air. The world began spinning and suddenly it was too bright for her. There were shouts and yells and Helena faintly felt the splash of blood across her face. The lifeless eyes of her attacker stared at her and the second sickly man was sprawled out with a bolt in his eye.

She vomited. Helena was wrenched to her feet and cried out in pain. She was staring her saviors in the face and couldn't recognize them for the life of her. He was a tall, grizzly man with a wincing half-smile as he stared at the bite wound on her arm cautiously.

She heard him call out. "Let's go, Darylina. Nothing here for us."

Helena spoke out weakly. "You're just going to leave us here?" Her voice incredulous. Jensen sat up slowly- his wound pouring blood at an alarming rate. She went to his side and held his hands against it.

The younger man he had spoken to paused and looked at her with piercing blue eyes. His bare arms twitched and his jaw flexed as he grinded his teeth. In his hands he held a crossbow. He wrenched the bolt from the man's eye that made a disgusting sucking sound. She felt like vomiting again.

The older man spoke with a heavy southern drawl. "Yer damaged goods girly." His hand gestured to the bite on her arm. She felt a heavy sort of dread wash over her. _No._ Helena argued. "He hadn't turned yet! I'm not infected."

The man shrugged. "I ain't takin' that risk sweetheart. Yer lucky I don't just kill ya now, though it migh' be more merciful of old Merle to do so." His tone was dark and warning and Helena shut her mouth. Anger began brewing in her heart. She wasn't going to beg. Her glare served as a finality in their interactions. She looked at the younger man and registered those blue eyes staring into hers. She growled aggressively. "You're killing us." The man still didn't speak- his eyes held a sort of hesitance before he followed the grizzly man down the staircase doorway.

The door slammed obnoxiously behind them. She shook all over as she continued to try and staunch the bleeding from her younger brother's wound. His face was pale and weak. He groaned. "We need to stay here for a while."

Helena's face fell. "If we don't leave now, we'll never be able to leave. There are too many of those- those things out there."

Jensen chuckled weakly and turned his head to look at the blood splattered window. "I don't think we were ever meant to leave, Lena."

Helena felt that familiar sense of dread wash over her pain numbed body. She pushed her simple brown hair behind her ears. It was sticky with blood and she became even more aware of the injury on her side. Lucky for her it was nothing more than a flesh wound- but that didn't a mean a damn thing to the pain she felt.

She stood on two shaky legs and pulled her brother to his feet. She grabbed the bat up for a second time and struggled to get him back inside their apartment. They fell to the floor and he cried out sharply. Helena felt the tears bubbling under her lids hotly. She shushed him best she could and she kicked the door shut behind them.

They were going to survive this. They had to. Helena pulled sheets and her sewing kit from her bedroom. She dropped next her dying brother. Jensen's skin was alarmingly pale. His breaths were short and wheezy. Helena set to work- trying to sew the wound shut.

The woman huffed in frustration as the thread broke for the fourth time. It was far to thin- she needed something like fishing wire. Blood trickled from her brother's mouth as he coughed violently. Helena placed a hand to his forehead and felt a raging fever beneath her skin. She cried softly. Tears overflowed her lids and fell down her face.

Jensen whispered. "I'm dying, Lena."

She couldn't respond as she laid her head against his. There was nothing she could do. She wrapped sheets around his waist tightly- but already blood was seeping from the makeshift bandages. Helena felt overwhelming desperation for the life of her brother. She felt his clammy hand grasp her tightly as his body seized in pain.

She watched his jaw clench and then everything relaxed. His hand fell from hers and her brother was gone. Helena cried for the life they were living. She cried for her imminent death. Most of all, she cried for the life of her brother. She couldn't protect him and he died. She couldn't protect herself, and now she would die too; destined to become the very thing that she had sworn to protect themselves from. How _pathetic_ was she?

Helena wasn't sure how long she laid there with her forehead pressed against her brothers- her hand in his. She was jerked from her pained and grief stricken reverie when his hand twitched in hers. The woman sat up quickly- her eyes searching for life in his deathly pale face. Then his eyes opened.

Her brother was gone and now she looked in to the eyes of a soulless creature.

**Chapter 1 of the new story. Hope y'all like it- reviews, fave's, follows will make the story continue on. I don't much like writing stories without any feedback because I rely on that feedback to make the story better. Let me know what y'all think. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Soul of a Man**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of the TWD.**

**Chapter 2: Black**

_Won't somebody tell me_

_Answer if you can_

_I want someone to tell me_

_What is the soul of a man_

Merle hollered in pain as he sawed through his own flesh and bone. He bit back the tears that threatened to pour from his eyes- his mind fought tirelessly for consciousness. The rusty, dull saw cut sloppily through his skin in a manner that made him dizzy and spots began to block his vision.

His breath was labored into pitiful whimpers as he drove into his wrist with a renewed vigor. The tremors rippled through his soul as the pain struck every nerve in his sun burned body.

Another bellowing scream left his mouth as his hand hit the ground with a dull thud. The world shook around him in a haze as he stared in astonishment at the lump of flesh and bone on the ground before him. He wiggled his fingers- half expecting them to obey his command. The fingers twitched. Or maybe he was just completely psychotic with pain.

Merle cackled through chapped lips while holding his haggardly cut stump up to the sun. Blood gushed down his arm and the wind stung the open wound. Merle grabbed his belt and cinched around his wrist tightly. His pain-fueled consciousness began to fail him and he stumbled towards an exit opposite the walkers. His vision blacked and he came to with a small woman before him applying a scalding slab of metal to his stump.

He screamed but found himself muffled with the cloth of a rag shoved into his throat. His body shook and trembled and he felt sweat roll over every inch of his skin. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and the pain went away. Was this death? Merle didn't want to die. He had his little brother he had to look out for.

Little D needed him.

* * *

Daryl shouted in rage. "I'm gonna kick yer nuts up in yer throat!" Rick pushed him back away from the young kid who was shouting obscenities in another language. T-Dog shoved the kid against the wall, looking around with a bewildered expression. The bag of guns lay on the ground, but Glenn was nowhere to be seen.

"Little bastard and his little bastard homie friends- I'm gonna stomp yer ass!"

T-Dog shouted over the kid as Rick struggled with Daryl. "We're cut off!" He pointed at the fence beginning to lean with the weight pressed upon it. The redneck turned and began to move away.

The woman atop the roof watched the scene in mild interest. She snarled at the stupidity of the hillbilly- his shouting was drawing more walkers to their location. _Dumbass._ She couldn't shake off the familiarity of the man though. Helena felt like she had met him before.

One of them- who looked like he was formerly a cop struggled with the enraged man. She stood up from her crouched position and readied her bow as the group began running down the alleyway. She sprinted across the rooftops silently- watching over them from above. Helena watched as they ran into two of the infected. They halted and as one lunged for the African American- she let an arrow fly.

It spiraled towards its target and dug deep into the rotted flesh. The walker collapsed immediately with its friend toppling over with another arrow of hers gouged into its head. The group of survivors stood frozen as if time had come to a stand still. Helena smiled mirthlessly as they looked up to her position. The sheriff called to her. "Hello?"

Helena ignored them and left. She went further away to clear their path to the apartment building she used to live. It would be safe for the night.

This was how she lived her life after the death of her brother. She couldn't save him while he was alive; so she saved him in death. Helena never tried to escape Atlanta after that tragic night. She waited for days on end for her death to come- but it never did. She had been right that being bit by a man not turned meant nothing but a terrible wound. She learned after her brother turned that in death, you would become one of them no matter what.

There was no escape for walking the earth for eternity unless you were to destroy the brain. Helena was forced to understand this very quickly. After her wounds had healed and she became stronger- the woman took it upon herself to walk Atlanta freely. The tall buildings and narrow alleyways wouldn't cage her.

The dead did not scare her. It was a life without meaning that she feared more than anything. She wouldn't waste the precious time she had left in this cruel world- so she made it a little less cruel for others; saving them when she could. She protected whoever she could from harm and delivered food and medicine they so badly needed.

Helena wanted to be there for people who didn't have anything, who struggled as she did or were left behind. This is how she found the desire to wake up each morning and combat the never-ending death.

Back with the group, Rick looked upwards in desperation to catch sight of this person again. Daryl yanked the silver arrows from the heads of the dead. He held them up, examining them in interest. Rick muttered. "Maybe we'll get a chance to return them later, we got to find a place to stay tonight."

* * *

Rick held out the silver arrows to Guillermo. "Would you happen to know who these belong to?"

The young man handled the arrows with the tiniest of smiles. "My men call her an angel. I don't know her personally- but she watches out for us and everyone still trying to survive here in Atlanta."

Daryl narrowed his eyes at him. "You mean to tell me there's a girl running round here savin' y'alls asses?"

Guillermo shook his head. "This is a woman. She isn't any girl. I've never seen her face to face- but my men come back with stories. She rules the roof tops of the city and lends her support from above. They always come back with these silver arrows and we'll leave them out on our roof with a bottle of water or anything we can spare in thanks."

The man paused as he fingered the cool metallic surface of the arrow. He smiled again. "She knows everything about this city, all the ins and outs. Sometimes when she returns for her arrows she'll leave medicine behind or food. It's like she knows what we need to keep going. If anyone knows anything about your brother, senor- it's her."

Daryl stood with his arms crossed and an angry frown covered his face. He chewed on his thumbnail in thought. "How do I find her?"

The young Hispanic man shrugged. "Thing is- she only ever shows up when someone is in trouble."

* * *

"Admit it- you came back for just the hat." Glenn teased with a joyful grin across his young face.

Rick gave him a friendly smile. "Don't tell anyone."

"You gave away half our guns and ammo." They walked at a brisk pace towards their cube van. "Not nearly half." Rick murmured. Daryl looked up at him with a sort of curiosity as he tried to figure this man out.

"For what? A bunch of old farts who are gonna die off momentarily anyhow? Seriously, how long do you think they got?" Rick shrugged in thought. It was a bit before he responded.

"How long do any of us?"

The redneck's mouth clamped shut. He understood the sheriff's means and motives but it didn't mean he agreed with his decisions. He couldn't help but respect Rick's thoughts though. There wasn't any second-guessing in his nature- he knew what he knew to be right and that was it. Daryl couldn't ask any more from a leader than that.

They were interrupted by Glenn's dismayed whine. "Oh my god." Rage roared in Daryl's veins at the empty spot where the cubed van should have been. "Where the hell is our van?" He shouted looking for any sort of tracks to indicate where it could've gone or who had taken it.

The angry and frustrated chatter came to an end abruptly. Daryl whirled around from his examination of the tracks with his bow at the ready to see a tiny woman standing before them. Her bow was raised with an arrow ready to fly.

She had light brown hair and golden colored eyes that glittered dangerously. Her body was taut with lean, trained muscle. The arrows she held were silver. And suddenly Daryl recognized this woman. She was the very same one that had been bitten and stabbed alongside the dark haired man in the apartment building.

His jaw nearly dropped. He snarled suddenly and leapt forward. "How the fuck are you alive?"

Her facial expression remained blank as if she didn't remember him. She advanced forward menacingly. Rick lowered his gun to the ground. "Let's all just calm down here. Daryl- you know her?"

The woman suddenly spoke with a voice much too aggressive for her appearance. "Yeah- this mother fucker left my brother and I for dead at the beginning of the outbreak."

Glenn stared at Daryl hard. "Is that true?" He seemed appalled hearing anything of the rednecks past. Daryl didn't respond- his body rose and fell rapidly; the anger clear and present on his face. Finally, his voice growled. "You were bitten, how did you survive?"

All their eyes jumped to the tiny woman in shock. T-Dog spoke suddenly with excitement, "Is there a cure?"

Helena shook her head. They sagged with disappointment. "I was bitten by a man that was insane- not a walker."

She lowered her bow cautiously. "I assume you're here for Merle."

Daryl leapt forward like a pressured spring coil. In a flash, he was on the ground with the woman straddling him and a knife pressed to his throat. She snarled through gritted teeth. "Let's get something straight here, _redneck_. Don't come near me, don't touch me- and I won't kill you."

The stunned blue eyes of the man on the ground stared aggressively into her golden brown ones. She jumped off his chest just as quickly as she had knocked him down. She registered the other three men with their weapons at the ready. Helena sheathed her knife as the hillbilly stood up slowly.

An angry blush covered his face, she knew he wanted to beat the ever-living hell out of her, but refrained from doing so. His hands were fisted and his breath rushed in and out of him like he was supposed to be breathing fire. If possible she would have dropped dead from that heated, deathly glare he laid upon her.

Rick spoke calmly. "I understand you two have a past- but I'm going to have to ask you not to do that again." Helena ignored the sheriff.

"Like I said- I assume y'all are here for Merle. Well he's gone and I don't know where he went."

Daryl barked sharply. "What the hell do you mean he's gone?"

Helena turned on him. The fury in her face was palpable. "I mean he's gone. He left- took your little van you dumbasses left the keys in."

"And he was okay?" T-Dog asked quietly.

"Somewhat. He's a tough son of a bitch- I'll give him that. He passed out shortly after cutting his own hand off. I helped cauterize his wound and gave him some meds and water. Dehydration was what would have killed him because you assholes handcuffed him to the roof."

Rick breathed in. "I did what I had-"

"You don't need to justify yourself to me, Sherriff. I see everything that goes on in this city. Merle was a maniac. I would have just killed him."

Daryl's voice cut in- his voice was thick and dry with emotion. He stared at the ground angrily. "So why didn't ya'? Ya' had the chance."

Helena gave him an emotionless look. "I know what it's like to lose a brother and you were all he would talk about when he was in and out of consciousness. The only reason that man lives is for you. Besides- I don't blame y'all. He was doing what he had to, to protect you- and leaving me behind was a decision he made and one I understand."

The redneck turned away from the group, he kicked the ground furiously and stomped off. The heels of his hands were pressed into his eyes so that he began seeing spots. He wouldn't cry. He didn't need to cry. Merle was still alive. Daryl breathed deeply and began to examine the tracks hoping for a lead of where his brother had run off to.

Rick spoke quietly. "You have a pretty impressive skill- from what I've seen. How have you managed to stay alive this long?"

The young woman shrugged before them. "I don't ever go into any situation I can't handle. I'm not invincible."

"Why did you come here? Guillermo said-" Glenn started.

"Guillermo is dead."

They were taken aback. "What?" was asked in unison, Helena shook her head- a distraught look crossed her sun-tanned face. She turned away from them. "You will come to find that it isn't the dead you need to fear. The living are much more dangerous. If you hadn't left when you did- you all would have died too."

Glenn shook his head. "B-but I don't understand-"

"Supplies. That made them a target."

Daryl returned to the group with a renewed vigor. "We need to get back to camp now. Those tire tracks are headed in that direction and Merle will be bringin' an awful lot of vengeance."

Rick turned back to the woman quickly. "What's your name?"

"Helena Wilder." She extended a hand to shake his. He nodded firmly. Before he released her hand, he spoke again. "Come with us."

The woman quirked an eyebrow curiously, "And why should I do that?"

"Why wouldn't you? We have a group that your skills can help protect. Safer in numbers."

She seemed to ponder his offer as he released her small hand. Helena looked back at the towering buildings and saw her chance at escape from her prison. She could let go of everything. Here she had a chance at a future with a group of people she could fight to protect and earn a living. Staying in Atlanta was an even bigger death sentence with the hostile groups moving in.

The young woman didn't smile, but nodded her head. "Let's go save your group then."

**Thanks for the follows and the faves. I would appreciate some reviews of y'alls thoughts. Let me know how I'm doing. Y'all have a nice day and I hope you enjoy.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Soul of a Man**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Except for Daryl. He's all mine. :P

Chapter 3: Dumb Shit Redneck Hick

Helena's lithe body swung the metallic end of her bow around. It collided with the rotted dead flesh of the skull of a walker. The impact slammed him into the ground. Before the creature could climb to his feet, the woman was delving her blade deep into its forehead. The skull caved in from the pressure and she withdrew with a loud sickening suction.

People were screaming and scrambling all about her in desperation to escape the dead that haunted their home. The moon shone ominously over the carnage of the camp. Helena leapt forward and shoved her blade into a walker's brain stem.

The man in the fisherman's hat who just nearly became a snack whipped around at the gushing of the blackened infected blood. He gave her a wide-eyed nod in thanks. The young woman had already turned away and was hunting for the next zom' terrorizing the grounds.

Daryl dropped his bow and was pulling back the heavy carriage to load another bolt when he heard the whistling sound of an arrow fly by. He jerked his head down and tumbled to the ground as a weight fell on his shoulders. The redneck frenzied and kicked away to see a dead walker with a silver arrow sticking out from its temple.

He looked around and couldn't catch sight of Helena. He growled in annoyance to himself and snatched the crossbow off the ground. Daryl ditched it for his hunting knife. He caught sight of the woman on his mind as she was shoving Carol and Sophia back up against the Winnebago.

Three walkers surrounded them- Helena was snarling at the terrified mother and daughter. Suddenly Sophia was launching up the ladder with Carol following behind her. A walker lunged for Carol and was quickly taken by Helena- his body crumpled while she launched at the last two. Her bow swung around as if it were a bat into the skull of one and her boot connected with the chest of the other to gain some more space.

As Helena went to dispatch the last- a fourth stumbled towards her from behind. Daryl lifted his bow and let a bolt fly. The thick, black blood sprayed her back as she whirled to face the approaching moan of death. Helena was in time to see the walker fall to the ground and catch sight of the bolt sticking from his temple. She _almost_ smiled.

Sobs and cries of grief replaced the earlier screams of terror. Helena wrenched the bolt from the walker's temple. The people of the camp began to inch towards the center to regroup. The young woman passed by another cradling a teenager. She averted her eyes as the scene reminded her too strongly of her and Jensen. Her heart tugged strongly at the very thought of his name.

Helena approached the man she came to know as Daryl purposefully. He fingered a silver arrow in his hands. Their eyes connected as she extended his bolt to him. Her eyes were narrowed in gentle scrutiny of the rough redneck. The woman bit down on her lower lip in thought before she mumbled softly. "Thanks for saving me over there."

Daryl snatched his bolt from her hands and tossed her arrow. Helena caught it deftly; a confused glare crossed her tanned face. Before she could say a word, the redneck snarled angrily. "How 'bout ya' keep yer stupid arrows to yerself?" Daryl couldn't really explain why he was so irked she had saved him. Maybe it was because he never really attempted to save her before when he thought she was infected.

A guilty feeling crept into his gut at the thought of the death of her brother and her hardship all by herself in Atlanta- because of him. Daryl felt as if he owed her something and her saving him left and right from stray walkers wasn't making his debt any better; it only pissed him off even more.

In all honesty, Daryl felt terrible about leaving her behind in those apartments. One look in those golden, pleading eyes and he had felt scorched from head to toe. He hesitated before following Merle from the apartments that day- he had felt that he needed to save her from a fate worse than death. _But she had been bitten._ Daryl reasoned with himself angrily.

He couldn't explain this nagging sense of guilt he felt. Daryl couldn't stand it either- it was driving him absolutely mad. It had only been reawakened the moment he laid eyes on her in Atlanta. First it was shock and then disbelief- how could such a tiny incapable woman with those golden eyes survive all by herself in Atlanta?

_But she wasn't incapable at all._ Helena was incredibly good at defending herself; it helped she was intelligent enough to not get herself into situations she couldn't handle. Daryl supposed not having anyone to worry about or protect aided her in this way. He guessed there were pro's and con's to being alone and being in a group- and at that very moment being around her was a huge con for him. He couldn't stand even looking at her and seeing his failure in those golden eyes of hers.

Helena hissed in return to him bringing him from his reverie and her momentary shock. "Fine. I won't bother saving your stupid ass anymore then."

Daryl snorted. "I don't need savin' woman. How 'bout you git along to prance 'bout defendin' the helpless."

His mocking tone infuriated the tiny woman. She wanted to punch and scream at him. Instead, Helena chewed on her lower lip furiously and stalked off- she struggled to control her rising temper. _He was such an ass!_ Why the hell did Daryl get under her skin so much?

She absolutely didn't blame him for leaving her and her brother behind- she couldn't. He and his brother were doing what they had to protect themselves. Helena would be a liar if she said she wouldn't do the same for her little brother. She forced her rage aside. Daryl was just a dumb shit redneck hick- he didn't deserve her efforts or thoughts.

If he didn't want help- fine; she wouldn't help then. Let him get eaten and see if she cares. Helena was lying to herself now, but chose to ignore it.

She approached Rick and another man dressed in khaki tactical pants and boots. She guessed he was another cop or something of the like by the way he stood and held his shotgun. They were in a furious hushed discussion.

Their conversation ended promptly upon her approach. The one man eyed her curiously and cautiously. His hands were on his hips. Rick nodded slightly. "Shane, this is Helena."

She gave a tiny nod. "Wish we could be meeting under better circumstances." The woman extended her small hand and Shane shook it firmly. "I do, too." His voice was coated in repressed exhaustion. "Do you know anything of the CDC?" The Sheriff suddenly asked her.

Helena's brows knitted together. "No, I don't."

"Would you agree of all places, it would be the place the government would go to protect as a last resort?"

The young felt as if she was being dragged into an argument she most definitely didn't want to be a part of. She spoke hesitantly. "Of course. But wouldn't we have heard something by now if it were still functional?"

Shane nodded his head in affirmation. "My point exactly. The CDC is way too close to Atlanta for comfort and it could just be a dead zone."

Rick shook his head. "No- it can't have fallen. The government would protect it at all costs."

"All costs? That includes the deaths of them. What happens if they're all dead?" Helena replied. She didn't want to argue, but she most definitely didn't want to get that close to the city again. It was dangerous and risky for a simple wild goose chase.

Rick sighed and ran a weary hand through his hair and tugged lightly at the ends. "We really need to get the camp cleaned up. We'll hold a vote later and see what everyone else thinks."

Shane argued still. "I'm tellin' ya' man. The CDC is a dead end."

The Sheriff squeezed his shoulder. "Later." He walked away with that. Helena grabbed the legs of the closest sprawled walker. She muttered to him encouragingly. "The sooner we get this place cleared and safe again- the sooner we'll be able to figure out where the hell to go."

Shane gave her wry smile as he grabbed the arms. His thick southern accent filled the air as the camp began to move into recovery mode. He explained to her their options and she listened intently. Nodding her head when appropriate. She felt a sickening panic began to blossom in her belly. How in the world were they going to protect all these people?

**Thank you for all of your responses with the faves, alerts, and reviews. I appreciate them very much! I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter, I would like to hear back and know what y'all think personally and if you have any suggestions. Thanks again!**


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